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Who wrote the book on Utah? No one.It would be nearly impossible for any one author to place our unique, inexhaustible (and exhausting) cultural and geographic heritage between two covers. That's why you need a full slate of 10 books to do our state any sort of literary — never mind poetic — justice.We've drawn up this list to mark this month's 14th annual edition of the Utah Humanities Book Festival, a free celebration of literary culture that aims to bring together readers and writers. The Book of MormonNot a book about Utah, of course, but certainly many Utahns' most beloved book. Don't worry about reading it cover-to-cover. A grasp of its basics is all that's needed, and the recurring phrase "And it came to pass" makes it almost as breezy as reading billboards along the highway. A short summary: A portion of ancient Israel's tribes sailed to the New World, wasted no time separating themselves into righteous Nephites and sinful Lamanites, and had their minds blown by Jesus' visit during which he recited portions of the Sermon on the Mount. Like much of world history, the book is shockingly true-to-life in that it contains plenty of war and bloodshed.Whether "the most correct of any book on Earth" as Mormons contend or "chloroform in print," according to Mark Twain, no one in the Beehive state can rightly claim residence without at least the ability to hold a conversation about it. It's also, in case you've not heard, the inspirational fountainhead for the smash Broadway musical of the same name by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Thousands of free copies printed annually make it all but unavoidable.The Executioner's Song, by Norman MailerGary Gilmore's 1977 death by firing squad at Utah State Prison for his random murder of a Utah County hotel clerk and gas-station attendant inspired perhaps Mailer's best book. The true-crime story and this book's formidable size aside, there's plenty of local scenery churning in the background. Hard to believe it all happened, "just 50 miles below Salt Lake."Mormon Country, by Wallace StegnerWe're spoilt for choices when it comes to Stegner titles. Among the literati, he remains best-known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Angle of Repose. Yet this, his first nonfiction title, has it all. A collection of 28 essays divided into Mormon and Gentile sections, it's an easily digestible book on almost every aspect of Utah history and lore, from polygamy to Butch Cassidy and the Mountain Meadows Massacre.The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady UdallA book with multiple (sorry) attractions. If you don't feel sorry for Golden Richards, a fundamentalist Mormon patriarch with four wives and 28 children, you're guaranteed to laugh yourself silly reading Udall's exquisite spell of comic atmosphere over personal despair. Set in an unnamed town in southern Utah, it's one of the rumored pre-publication inspirations behind HBO's "Big Love."Everett Ruess: A Vagabond for Beauty, by W.L. RushoUtah's stunning redrock country became imbued with mystery and romance the day young poet Everett Ruess disappeared among its canyons in 1934. Rusho's 1985 book was first on the block to explore the nuances of this seminal Utah figure, never mind that the poet grew up in California. It's been republished recently as The Mystery of Everett Ruess. For an updated version of the story, see Philip Fradkin's Everett Ruess, which covers the erroneous DNA 2009 results that threatened a premature end to the legend.Desert Solitaire, by Edward AbbeyIt's a near-impossible choice between this and The Monkey Wrench Gang, but Abbey's chronicle of his ranger stint in Arches National Park bursts at the seams with bewitching prose, not to mention his blistering critique of city slickers and anyone out to seize Utah's wilderness lands for development.Salamander: The Story of the Mormon Forgery Murders, by Allen Dale Roberts and Linda SillitoeJournalists by the score flew into Salt Lake City to cover the curious goings-on soon after a pipe bomb killed document collector Steven Christensen and Holladay homemaker Kathy Sheets in 1985, but local journalists Roberts and Sillitoe eventually crafted the best account of this Utah story. Mark Hofmann never looked more sinister.Cadillac Desert, by Marc ReisnerIs all of Utah one big natural-resource disaster waiting to happen? Reisner hints strongly that we are, and his thorough history of water development in the American desert casts a critical eye on the history of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. Our day of reckoning may be soon.Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place, by Terry Tempest WilliamsThe book that catapulted Williams from little-known local naturalist to a national literary treasure. Few writers would dare attempt to link their family's history of breast cancer with Great Salt Lake ecology and a history of nuclear testing in Utah's deserts, but Williams passionately and gracefully braids her themes into a memoir of what it means to be female, a Westerner and alive.Cowboys Are My Weakness, by Pam HoustonTwelve tales of women who love dogs and men falling in love in the great outdoors, whether hunting, river-rafting or just plain hanging out. Plenty of writers have covered this terrain before, few with such voice and female verve. Houston earned a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Utah, and her time spent here shows.bfulton@sltrib.comTwitter: @artsaltwww.facebook.com/tribremix —

Utah stories

I Have we neglected any of your favorite books about Utah that explain our state to ourselves? For a possible future story, drop Ben Fulton a note at bfulton@sltrib and write "Utah stories" in the subject line.